Eastside High School football saves season with thrilling comeback win over Willingboro
WILLINGBORO – The celebration started as the clock approached zero and players stepped off the sideline and began jumping on the field.
It continued after the handshake line as the Eastside High School football team ran down to the south side end zone and exchanged handshakes, high-fives, hugs and more.
They gave junior Jules Dominguez, one of the night’s heroes, his own personal party as they rained down adulation him with congratulations.
One of the Tigers assistant coaches pleaded with the players to act like they’ve been there before, but head coach Melik Brown told them to live it up.
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Eastside has won back-to-back-to-back sectional championships, but this is a new team, a younger, less experienced squad that was reeling from the program’s first three-game losing streak since 2014.
The Tigers 14-12, come-from-behind victory over Willingboro Friday at Carl Lewis Stadium is one of the program’s most important wins of the last several years.
“If we didn’t win this game, we wasn’t going to make the playoffs,” senior lineman Anthony Turlington said.
“This game right here was to save our season,” Dominguez added.
More so than that, it proved to this group of kids that they can uphold the standards Eastside has set the past several seasons.
“The celebration at the end was all about all the hard work we’ve been putting in each week and falling short,” said Brown, who also garnered his first victory as a head coach. “That’s why I told the guys I understand the emotion and everything that we’ve been putting in. Yes, we’ve been winning, winning, winning, but this is a really young team, so putting in the work and actually getting the win and the fruits of that labor, I can’t be mad at that.”
No player defined this group’s growth the first month of the campaign more than quarterback Makhi Brunson.
The 5-foot-8 sophomore is the first signal caller not named Kargman to start a game for the Tigers since 2017. Nick and Devin are the second and third leading passers in South Jersey history. They’re Division-I players that led prolific Eastside, then Woodrow Wilson, offenses. Brunson wasn’t oblivious to those mammoth footprints.
“It’s a lot of pressure because everybody’s going to think I’m the problem (if the Tigers lose),” Brunson said.
Brunson isn’t the passer either Kargman was, but his leadership might rival them, even at his young age. That showed Friday.
In a game Eastside committed penalty after penalty, made mistake after mistake, Brunson was the settling voice of his team. He showed no nerves down 12-0.
“He’s got heart,” Dominguez said.
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No play illustrated that better than the two-point conversion following his game-tying touchdown pass to Dominguez with 2:07 left in the third quarter.
The snap was low. The Chimeras were closing in quickly around Brunson, yet he calmly picked the ball off the ground and scrambled up the middle for the score and the game-winning points.
“No,” Brunson responded when asked if that’s a play he makes even two weeks ago. “I had growth. I’ve had growth the last couple weeks. I’ve grown up and made a play.”
The Tigers are growing up with him, and with reinforcements on the way – standouts Shamir Boyd, Will Love, Will Norman, Judah Anthony, Yasir Matthews and Marshall Washington were all out Friday – they’re about to go on the attack.
“We’re going to have everybody back next week,” Dominguez said. “That’s going to be another oomph on our team, and with everybody back we’re going to rock out.”
Three things we learned
∎ Discipline needed. Eastside won despite committing a whopping 18 penalties, including 5 encroachments, 2 unsportsmanlike conducts, a sideline interference and 4 pre-snap offensive calls. It’ll be hard to earn another victory with that many flags again. The Chimeras were hurt by penalties too as they had eight, many of which stalled their drives or kept Tiger marches going.
∎ Dominguez rising. The return of four-star recruits Love and Norman, All-South Jersey First Team honoree Boyd and playmakers Anthony, Matthews and Washington are going to cause a lot of problems for opponents, but they’d be fools to ignore Dominguez. He made five interceptions in seven starts last season after getting called up from JV, and he’s made three more this season, none bigger than his tipped pick in the end zone with 4:21 left to preserve a 14-12 advantage.
“He’s probably one of the most valuable players on our defense,” Turlington said.
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His impact on offense is huge too as he had 5 grabs for 56 yards, one of which was a sweet one-handed leaping grab, plus the game-tying TD.
“He just wants to make plays,” Brown said. “He wants to be good. He wants to be great. He puts in the work every single day and that’s obvious. He’s one of the kids we count on to show up and make plays.”
∎ Willingboro has a quarterback to build around. Freshman Lamar Best didn’t have the greatest statistical day against the Tigers, completing 7-for-15 passes for 82 yards, a touchdown and an interception, but those numbers were misleading. The Chimeras had five drops, including one that resulted in that pick. Best is a building block of this team’s future.
Game balls
Dominguez. Made two of the biggest plays of the game with his touchdown and interception.
Brunson. Finished 8-of-14 for 111 yards and a touchdown, ran for a score and had the game-winning two-point conversion on a busted play.
Turlington. His strip sack led to the go-ahead touchdown drive in the third quarter. He finished with 2 sacks, 2 batted passes at the line, multiple other pressures and started at left tackle too.
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They said it
“We preach next man up, so even when guys are not available and not there, we always got to prepare because you never know when it’s going to be your time to step up. I congratulate these kids on a hell of a week of preparation and they got the results.”
– Eastside coach Melik Brown on his team earning its first win despite missing six key starters.
Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Eastside High School football rallies for first win, saves season
